The last steam engine to be installed new to drive a Lancashire weaving shed was almost certainly the most complex engine ever made for this duty. Basically the engine was a cross compound drop valve engine with steam extraction at 30 psi between the high pressure and low pressure cylinders. To provide for maximum efficiency on the low pressure side of the engine, the low pressure cylinder was of the Uniflow pattern. There were several devices fitted to the engine to obtain optimum efficiency and a minimum of attention requirements. Unlike many more modern gadget laden machines, the engine appears to have given over forty years' of excellent service.
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